Thursday, April 14, 2011

News Release - RMNP to Waive Entrance Fees

Entrance Fees Waived at Rocky Mountain National Park During National Park Week

Estes Park, CO -- Entrance fees to Rocky Mountain National Park and the additional 393 National Park Service sites will be waived during National Park Week, April 16-24, 2011. In January, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced 17 fee-free days in our national parks, monuments and sites during 2011. National Park Week is the longest fee-free period this year.

"In these tough economic times, our fee-free days will give families many opportunities to enjoy our nation's heritage and natural beauty in meaningful and affordable ways," Salazar said. According to National Park Service Director John Jarvis, “National Park Week is a great time to add to your own national park ‘life list,’ so visit a park you have never been to before.”

The signs of spring are starting to appear in the park with migratory birds being observed and snow melting away at lower elevations. Snowshoers and skiers are still enjoying good snow conditions at the higher elevations while spring hikers are finding the lowest trails in the park snow-free. The park is a great place to get some exercise with a short hike, some bird watching or backcountry travel. However, park rangers warn visitors to stay off lakes this time of year due to unsafe ice.

Each Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center the park offers a speaker series focusing on the theme, “Trying to See the Forest for the Trees: Forest Health in the Rocky Mountains.” The program on April 23 titled “Impacts of Mountain Pine Beetles on Ponderosa Pine in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Front Range” will be offered by Dr. Jenny Briggs, a Research Ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center in Denver. These programs are free and open to the public.

Additional fee-free dates will be the first day of summer (June 21), National Public Lands Day (September 24), and the weekend of Veterans Day (November 11-13).